Megagonoleon punctatus Machado, 2020

Machado, Renato Jose Pires & Oswald, John David, 2020, Morphological phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the former antlion subtribe Periclystina (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae), Zootaxa 4796 (1), pp. 1-322 : 237-240

Megagonoleon punctatus Machado , new species

( Figs. 119 , 122–123 )

http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ 66547894-C575-4214-9D79-78FB049D62CB

Diagnosis. Forewing broad, with numerous brown punctuations; tibial spurs present; posterior gonapophysis absent; pregenital plate large, conically invaginated; female ventral membrane with numerous long thickened setae; male gonarcus/mediuncus complex very long; male paramere absent.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 25–28 mm; hind wing: 23–26 mm.

Head ( Figs. 122 a–b): Labrum mostly brown, except for ventral margin and a central longitudinal orange line; set with a line of elongate setae. Clypeus pale to orange; with some elongate black setae. Frons with a dark brown area surrounding antennae, but with ventral margin and a rounded spot between antennae orange; covered with short white setae. Gena orange. Vertex raised; in anterior view mostly orange with five dark brown spots set in a central transverse line (in some specimens the external spots connected forming two short transverse lines); in dorsal view mostly orange with a central longitudinal dark brown line, and some irregular dark marks on posterior border; vertex mostly covered with short black setae and few short white setae laterally. Ocular setae absent. Antennae clubbed; elongate, about three times longer than pronotum; distance between width; all segments orange but posterior surface of scape, pedicel and first flagellomere slightly darker; torular membrane orange; flagellomeres slightly wider than long, mainly apical ones; scape and pedicel covered with short white setae, remaining segments set with small black setae. Mandibles mostly pale, with tip black. Maxillary Palpi mostly orange but with dark spots on basal segments and great part of second segments. Labial Palpi orange but with large areas of basal segments and around palpimacula dark brown; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Fig. 122b ): Pronotum slightly wider than long; posterior margin as wide as anterior; subapical furrow present; orange but with numerous small dark spots on setal bases, and some larger dark brown marks mainly on posterior margin and central region; beset with black setae and some long white setae at marginal region. Mesonotum orange but with numerous small dark punctuations on setal bases and some irregular larger dark brown marks at medial area and segments margins, some specimens with lateral longitudinal dark lines at scutum; covered with long black setae with prescutum setae long. Metanotum orange, but with dark punctuations on setal bases, mainly at prescutum, and some lateral longitudinal lines at scutum. Pterothoracic pleura orange with dark punctuations on setal bases on anterior segments, and some irregular dark marks on sclerites margins; covered with long white setae, and some long black setae on black punctuations; Miller’s organ present.

Wings ( Fig. 122c ): Fairly broad; anterior Banksian line present in both wings, posterior absent; veins mostly orange but intercalated with light brown areas, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane mostly hyaline (slightly darker than hind wing) but with rounded brown spots surrounding some of the crossveins at cubital and radial areas; spots on radial area generally expanding to subcostal area; CuA fork located near RP origin; three presectoral crossveins, in some specimens there is a longitudinal veinlet connecting RP with the distal presectoral vein; subcostal veinlets simple, but with few crossveins forked near pterostigma; posterior area generally slightly wider than prefork area at CuA fork level; prefork crossveins simple. Hind wing membrane hyaline, with a rounded brown rhegmal spot; MP fork located near RP origin; subcostal veinlets simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs: All pair of legs, femur elongate (near three times longer than coxa); tibia slightly longer than femur; femur slightly longer than tarsi; tibial spurs long, reaching apex of T1; T3 and T4 about same size, T2 slightly longer than T3, T1 slightly longer than T2, T5 longer than T1; claws about as long as half of T5 length. Proleg coxa and trochanter orange except for small dark marks on posterior surface of coxa, both covered with white setae; femur proximal half orange but distal half dark brown with medial area orange, sense hair about as long as femur width, covered with short white setae, some long white setae and scattered long black; tibia orange with three brown rings, two on proximal half and one at distal apex; ventral surface covered with short white setae and antennal cleaning setae ventroapically, dorsal surface covered with short black setae, and few long black and white setae; tarsi mostly orange but T3, T4 and tip of T5 dark brown, covered with short black setae, T5 ventrally with two rows of thick, long, black setae. Mesoleg similar to proleg. Metaleg with femur and tibia slightly longer than in other legs; colour similar except for tibia and femur entirely orange but tip dark brown, and T3 and T4 orange.

Abdomen: Mostly orange but with numerous irregular dark brown areas; in some darker specimens these marks are larger, covering most part of some sclerites. Sclerites mostly covered by short white setae, and some short black setae, mainly at distal tergites.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 123 a–d): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded in lateral view, set with elongate black setae. 9 th sternite posterior margin with tip curved, in ventral view; set with elongate black setae. Genitalia very elongate, with tip exposed. Gonarcus and Mediuncus fused, elongate with tip rounded. Paramere absent.

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 123 e–f): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded, set with thin elongate setae and some elongate cavisetae ventrally. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, about same size as ectoproct, beset with elongate cavisetae. 7 th sternite long with medial region of distal margin elongate and acute in lateral view; covered with black thick setae on distal area. Ventral membrane and distal margin of pleura between 7 th sternite and 8 th tergite, with numerous black thick setae. Pregenital plate a long conically invaginated sclerotized structure; in lateral view with tip curved. Posterior and anterior gonapophyses absent. 9 th tergite membranous digitiform process absent. Ventral membrane gonapophyseal plates absent.

Distribution ( Fig. 119 ). Australia: NT, QLD, WA. Known from sparse records in central and northern Australia.

Adult activity period. Records for August and September; perhaps a late winter/early spring emerging species.

Biology. Unknown, larva unknown.

Etymology. punct- (from Latin punctum, a spot or dot) + - atus (from Latin -atus, having the nature of), in reference to the two rows of rounded brown spots on the forewing.

Name-bearing type. Megagonoleon punctatus . Holotype (by present designation), female, WAM. AUSTRA- LIA: Western Australia: Kiwirrkurra IPA: Survey Site 2, south face of sand dune, 22.81222 oS– 127.83119 oE, 425m, 15/09/2015, N. Tatarnic, [BBKIWI_L01] // ENT1161. Condition: pinned, excellent.

Paratypes (4♂, 5♀). AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory: King Canyon (Au 12): 19.ix.2005, R. Miller & L. Stange (1♀, FSCA, pinned); Renner Springs : 18.19S– 133.48E, 13.Aug.1990, M.S. Upton (1♂, ANIC, pinned) ; Queensland: 3 km West Windorah , 27 o 25’S– 152 o 50’E, 5.ix.1997, C. Lambkin, S. Winterton, J & A Skevington, A. Zwick (2♀, QMBA, pinned) ; Western Australia: 186 km SEbyE of Broome, 18.53S– 123.43E, 11.August.1976, I.F.B. Common (1♀, ANIC, pinned); 150 km SEbyE of Broome, 18.55S– 123.14E, 12.August.1976, I.F.B. (1♂, ANIC, pinned); 163 km SEbyE of Broome , 18.49S– 123.17E, 4.August.1976, I.F.B. (1♀, ANIC, pinned); Kiwirrkur- ra IPA: Visitor Centre , 22.81979 oS– 127.76564 oE, 430m, 07/09/2015, N. Tatarnic, [BBKIWI_L03] // ENT1161 (1♂, WAM, pinned); 0.5 km E of Pungkulpirri Waterhole, Walter James Range , 24 o 39’15’’S– 128 o 45’18’’E, 26.sep.2006, at light, Central Ranges Sur. Camp 1 // 24-000113 (1♂, SAMA, pinned) .

Additional material examined (3♀, 1?). AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory: Haast Bluff Station : C. Aust. 2000 ft, 4.ix.1957, N.B. Tindale (1?, SAMA) ; Western Australia: 163 km SEbyE of Broome , 18.49S– 123.17E, 4.viii.1976, IFB Common (3♀, ANIC) .

Comments. Megagonoleon punctatus sp. nov. is closely related to M. roseipennis based on the form of the female and male terminalia, including the absence of female posterior gonapophyses and the elongate male gonarcus/mediuncus, which protrudes from the end of the abdomen. The latter trait is unique within the Periclystus genus group and helps to justify this species pair as a small clade ( Fig. 4 ) within the larger stigmatus species group. The long, thick, setae of the female terminalia and the two rows of brown punctuations on the forewing easily distinguish M. punctatus from all other known Megagonoleon gen. nov. species. Megagonoleon punctatus was included in Machado et al. (2019) as “ Glenoleon sp.1”, which recovered M. punctatus as sister to M. stigmatus , also within the stigmatus species group.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Strict consensus tree of morphology-based parsimony analysis of species belonging to the former subtribe Periclystina (ingroup, names in black), and outgroups (names in red). Former Glenoleon species are shown on blue branches, former Austrogymnocnemia species on green branches. Numbers above branches are Bremer support values; numbers below branches are bootstrap values (shown where>50%).

FIGURE 119. Distribution of Megagonoleon species (part).

FIGURE 122. Megagonoleon punctatus sp. nov.: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, dorsal; c) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 123. Megagonoleon punctatus sp. nov.: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) genitalia, dorsal; c) genitalia, lateral; d) genitalia, posterior; female: e) terminalia, lateral; f) terminalia, ventral. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.